"cervical polyp removal"

Oonagh,

Thank you so much for your kind reply, I just could not even look back at this for the past days, was just not in a good place.

I know it sounds stupid I did not know I could have done this, I just wish somehow this had have been said to me, was noted somewhere in correspondence, I went into this very green, very scared, very frightened.

I know it shouldn’t but this has impacted me really badly, I am reeling still from it, I know most of you guys working in the system would not see what the fuss is about so to speak & I understand as you guys deal with this every day, its just I suppose I don’t & haven’t, I am scared, frightened have only had female doctors & clinics all my life. I don’t know if anyone else feels like this ie about how it feels how the hospital, clinic environment, all the uniforms the seemingly regimented strict nature creates a very intimidating and frightening atmosphere, it does not give the feeling of any empowerment to ask, show fear, concerns, 3 people standing there expecting me to strip etc for this male doctor, it was just awful, I felt railroaded / coerced into it, it felt like my concerns would get me laughed at, or would be frowned upon & I would be feeling silly & more embarrassed or I would be told to leave & like the letter I received said about not keeping appointments “not invited back” all sorts of things were going through my mind, I found it all added up to me feeling very intimated and frightened my fears my mind was just going crazy. I would just have loved to been talked to, asked if a male doctor was ok. It has left me feeling violated & dirty, there have been days I have felt like doing something harmful to me.

Yes I am sure the doctor would not want his patients to feel like this(it’s a double loose situation, the last thing he would want but its awful it did), hospitals are a very frightening place, it just feels your not in control/have no control any more.

Its just how it made me feel, I wish to God it didn’t, even writing this is so painful.

I am so sorry I do not mean to be saying anything negative the staff are good, good at their job but it’s a personal thing for me, I am thinking must be so for many women or women’s clinics etc would not exist. The way this happened for me it was a shock the number handed to me, go down the corridor, called into a room, my heart sank when I was confronted with the doctor, I just froze/felt trapped/this is it, it was way more traumatic than it could have been, again I feel violated, dirty & embarrassed even talking/writing about it, I am so sorry I know you can have no idea how this impacted me, I feel so down & sad, my Gi system is very upset where since everyday multiple times a day I feel I am going to throw up, I am experiencing very loud uncontrollable belching, I am running to the bathroom at a moments notice up to 6 plus times every day since with very little warning, it all seems to intensify each time the experience crosses my mind, its like a depressing black cloud over me. I am glad the procedure is done, glad the facility, the staff are there to help me and others.

What doesn’t help with all this and is making my life a misery is knowing my experience could have been so much different, I almost feel my heart could have been full of just relief & joy at the end of it all. It had put me off these type(women’s) appointments, your reply has helped.

My mind has been going over & over all things & thinking about women’s clinics I think the ethos was enabling women to feel more empowered, comfortable & involved with their female examinations, that they had a choice(that female teams were there available), that it could become less intimidating, embarrassing & traumatic therefore encouraging women to come forward more for these things.

I am just wondering I know for many others it may not bother/impact anything like this(but especially for others like me in the future) please could it not be somewhere in the chain/ questions/letters where it could be asked on how / where/ who carries out the patients prior female exams, if it maybe could be asked (especially for patients who choose seem to use/prefer female led teams for these intimate things) if they mind a male doctor/staff or if they prefer female, or some indication on availability of female staff for the said procedure? (I understand the flexibility may not be available all the time but if it was put out there the patient would have a choice to reschedule, release that appointment to another, freeing space down the line?.

I also feel so stupid, I will now know if it comes up again I can ask, thank you again for your words.

Thank you so much for listening & I am again sorry to be feeling like this, to be thinking/saying this, you guys provide vital needed & appreciated services, I just have to try talk about this, I don’t know if or how much it will help but I have to try something.

I would really like there to be some learning from my experience, if only something even simple could be done to highlight this issue and save the same thing happening to other patients.

Since my recent experience, I have been seeking help online and was surprised to find that there is a vast anxiety and trauma over these types of female procedures & exams.

I feel the doctors (male in my case) yes they are more than likely nice people and I understand they have to have a certain confidence to be a doctor, but this does not mean all women are comfortable with or want male staff doing these procedures

My suggestion would be to have some information/questions given to the patient before they attend these types of appointments to:

A: To highlight the option available to be able to request a female member of staff and

B: To ask if the patient has experienced any past trauma that they feel might impact them while having this procedure

I truly hope these suggestions can be considered.